Homes which sell in just 12 days most likely to get asking price, study finds

Homes which take 12 days to sell are the most likely to achieve their maximum asking price, research suggests.

Homeowners' campaign body the HomeOwners Alliance looked at the relationship between the length of time that a property sits on the market for and the percentage of the asking price that it achieves.

Using data from over 5,000 estate agency branches across Britain, it found the eventual price paid for a property peaked at 12 days. Estate agents selling homes at this point tended to achieve just over the full asking price, at 100.89% typically.

Both before and after the 12-day point, the average percentage of the asking price achieved was slightly lower.

Based on an average UK property price of £218,000, a 12-day sale could mean the owner achieves additional £1,940 on top of their asking price, the report suggested.

The research also suggested that after a property had been on the market for a couple of months, it would achieve around 96% of the asking price on average, and after three months on the market this would fall to around 94%.

The HomeOwners Alliance used a tool on its website called estateagent4me, which helps people to find out about local estate agents, for the research.

Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance, said properties sold in fewer than 12 days may not achieve their full value if they were sold too quickly. Perhaps another buyer may have come along with a better offer if the seller had waited for a few more days."

She said: "At the other end of the scale, properties which are listed for a number of weeks see their values drop steadily, particularly after they have been listed for over a month."